Engineer Jordan Hammond wants to support teachers and ensure students are prepared for life after graduation as a Hamilton County school board member.
“I’m an extreme proponent of education,” he said in an interview. “I wouldn’t be anywhere I am if I didn’t get the education I did. I think it’s our right, our duty, it’s our responsibility to educate the next generation. Without that, we don’t continue progressing in the world.”
Hammond, a Democrat from Harrison, is challenging incumbent Gary Kuehn, R-Ooltewah, in the race to represent District 9 on the board. The district includes the Harrison and Birchwood areas.
Hammond, 27, is a controls engineer for eSpin Technologies, a Chattanooga-based air filter manufacturer. His engineering background gives him insight into staying neutral and fact-based, he said, and his age gives him a connection to the modern education system.
“I like to be aware of the data, take that into consideration when making a decision,” he said. “Listening is one of my strengths. I don’t want to be on the board for my own agenda. Though my agenda is ensuring that everyone gets education, … there’s people who know way more than me in every area, every field. I want to be able to listen to those who are experts and those who have concerns.”
He is originally from McMinnville, Tennessee, and moved to the Chattanooga area four years ago to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Hammond decided to run for office, he said, because he was looking for ways to give back to a city that’s given him a job, an education and friends.
When he was considering whether to run, he said, he heard residents’ concerns with the current board — particularly related to teacher pay, support for students with disabilities, aging facilities and school-based mental health services — which made him want to put his foot forward.
“I’ve really been enjoying the process of getting to hear people out about their frustrations, and it seems like people were not being heard before,” he said. “If there’s anything I know I’m capable of doing, it’s sitting and listening to someone.”
If elected, his priorities include ensuring teachers are heard and they earn enough to care for a family, as well as ensuring that more students are testing at or above grade-level expectations on state standardized tests.
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He’d like to look at what top-performing schools and districts are doing, he said, and replicate it locally at schools that are not meeting standards.
“Ensuring that our testing is meeting goals,” he said, “ensuring that our kids are future ready, that they have the opportunities to get into STEM programs where needed, they can go to college or work or trade school immediately after school, making sure that they’re prepared is the most important thing.”
If Hamilton County schools are competitive with nearby districts and the rest of Tennessee, it will lead to more parents and teachers wanting to be part of the school system, he said.
School board candidates are elected to four-year terms.
Sharon Alexander, a Harrison resident who said she first met Hammond at a candidate training when he was considering whether to run, said she believes the school board needs some youth. Hammond is a thoughtful young man, she said, and would be able to provide a personal perspective on how technology and other modern issues impact students.
“I have observed that he’s more of a listener than a talker, and I believe his plan is to listen to everybody and listen to experts,” she said by phone. “I know he wants to make sure kids are supported in school beyond just academics.”
Contact education reporter Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.
OFFICE DETAILS
Duties: Approving the budget, creating policy, hiring and evaluating the superintendent
Schools represented: Brown Middle, Central High, Harrison Elementary, Harrison Bay Future Ready Center, Hunter Middle, Snow Hill Elementary, Wallace A. Smith Elementary
Key issues: Facilities, school staffing, preparing students for the workforce
Start date: Sept. 1
Salary: Around $14,300
THE ELECTION
The general election is Aug. 6, and early voting runs July 17-Aug. 1.
WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND
Racial and socioeconomic disparities
“That’s the role of every citizen. … Our administration knows it can’t be tolerated, and that’s right now what we’re doing. We’re trying to prevent it from happening in our schools, but we also have to do the same thing in our communities.”
— Gary Kuehn, Republican
“The board should be aware of disparities that are amongst their student population or their teacher population. I think they should be actively mitigating any disparities or harms that might be done to certain populations, whether it be well-established policy or whether it be in zoning. I would say that part of the board’s job is ensuring that we shouldn’t be having any student left behind or treated differently because of their birth status or because of their skin color. Actively working toward removing disparities is a high priority, I would say, of the board because that’s directly tied with ensuring that every child is taken care of.”
— Jordan Hammond, Democrat
School-based mental health services
“I think as long as these are qualified individuals, as long as they’re trained professionals, I think that’s a great service for the children.”
— Jordan Hammond, Democrat
“They should allow them in but not during class time. If a student can be there before school or after school and receive these, then that’s an option that they might not have because of lack of transportation or whatever. … Our last board meeting, we approved the five counseling services again. We’ll put a few more data points in there to look at now, but the goal of the board previously was to find more support through different services than just what was previously provided, with regards to parent choice of companies.”
— Gary Kuehn, Republican